MY TOM
by Rugged Starfish
Summary: I couldn't find any socks so i rocked back and forth struggling to put on my worn boots. i could hear my grandma in the next room calling everyone in for dinner. Dinner could wait, Tom couldn't.


One shot about me but you guys can just pretend its cammie. Kay? Oh and Ally cater DOES NOT own this story or anyone in it! HAPPY SUMMER OLYMPICS!

Story of the day.

I was sitting in the living room at my grandmother's house, playing with my two little cousins Anna and Avery. We were waiting for dinner to be ready when I heard my mother call from the back porch. "Girls come look! A baby Blue bird has hatched!" I was at once filled with excitement. I ran outside with Abbie. But as soon as we were at the sun room door my mother said, "Stop". We halted." Put on your shoes before you go outside. It just rained and there is mud everywhere." i agreed but before i went back inside to venture for my shoes something big and brown caught my eye. It was Tom! The neighbor's horse! He was at the fence! This rarely happened considering the fact that Tom unlike so many of his kind was half blind.

Every day since my visit I have gone outside to see Tom. I would test his fence first by throwing something at it before I touched it because it was electric but rarely ever on. So I tested the fence and then leaned on it. I called for him, "Tom! Tom! Come here boy!" His head would suddenly jerk up at the sound of my voice. He would turn his body towards me so he could see me with his good eye. Sometimes I would sing to him or throw an apple over the fence. I even dared once to go under it. I knew his favorite thing to eat was carrots but he would never come close enough to let me feed him.

The owner of Tom didn't like me I guess. He was an old man that worked the fields. I asked him once while he was repairing a fence door, "what's your horse's name?" He grumbled something under his breath like he'd forgotten after all these years. Then said," You better stay away from that fence little girl. That horse is half blind. If he saw ya and didn't know what ya were he might hurt cha and it wouldn't be  
his fault." Even though I didn't like the man I had taken head to his words.

I scurried back inside to find my worn cowboy boots. I loved wearing them all the time. They brought back so many memories from when I was a little girl pretending I was a real cowgirl from the old Wild West. With the fresh memories coming back and me smiling at the thought I charged to the back room to find them. I didn't want to take too long for fear that Tom would tire of waiting for me and walk back to that old farm house. I couldn't find any socks so i rocked back and forth struggling to pull on the boots. I could hear my grandma in the next room calling for everyone to eat dinner. Dinner could wait Tom couldn't.

I grabbed a hand full of carrots and opened the sun room door. I saw the old clothes line in the back field my grandparent's hadn't used in years with the little wooden bird house nailed to one of the rusty poles. I walked in big strides over to it while the warm breeze passed through my tangled hair. I had worn my fitted Purple v-neck and my blue jean shorts and of course, the cowboy boots.

I was still too short to see inside the bird house so I dropped the hand full of carrots I had brought from the fridge on the ground, jumped up, grabbed onto the bar, and pulled myself up and took a look inside. There were four bright blue quarter sized eggs snuggled in the warm nest that their mama had so graciously made for them. But huddled in the middle of the bunch was a little growing form. Its light coating of feathers was getting tousled back and forth by the warm breeze. I smiled at the thought of its mother teaching it how to fly when it was big enough.

Now it was time to see Tom. I picked up my handful of carrots off of the ground and took off across the field to where the fence was, and were Tom stood grazing.

By the time i had reached him at the fence mud was already caked to my shoes. He seemed to sense my presence so he slowly lifted his head to face me. I looked into his face, memorizing the different colored tuffs of hair sticking out everywhere. I looked at his good eye that reminded me of smooth chocolate. it was beautiful. I froze mid smile as his other eye seemed to land on my face. It was filled with an icy blue swirls that were covered by a clear coat like glass. As it drew towards the middle of the eye it slowly turned into cold darkness that I couldn't seem to shake off. It felt as if it was piercing into my very soul. As long as I stared at his eye I had the sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach that no one...was staring back. However long he looked at me he would never see me.

I've heard people say before that if you lose a part of your body, another part will work in its place and become stronger than it's ever been. I guess the same worked for Tom. His other eye must be exceedingly strong since it's worked on its own for so long. My older brother says that he has seen Tom since he was a baby so the horse is at least 20 years old. There's no telling how long he's been without an eye. He was a copper brown and very skinny. I wondered if he ever had a rider. If there had been some kind of story that went along with his mean old owner. I had never thought about it before. My friend started to walk away, so I pulled out my hand full of carrots. He eyed them as I made my way closer towards the fence. i needed to check whether the electric fence was on or not. i guess Mr. Mean Neighbor used it more for keeping little kids out than horses in. i threw a stick at it...nothing happened. I touched it quickly with my hand. it didn't shock me! Fortunately he seldom remembered to turn it on.

Tom continued to graze as I tossed a carrot near his nose. He stopped, sniffed the carrot, decided it was fit for eating and bit down on it. I could tell he enjoyed his little treat by the way he lifted his head in search for more. i put another one on the fence post so he could eat it. A feeling of sadness washed over me as I realized he couldn't see it. i dropped the rest of my carrots on the ground and watched as he happily excepted them. the slight change in the air and the sound of coyotes in the distance reminded me of one of my favorite songs. i decided to sing it for Tom.

There is a time for us to wonder  
When time is young and so are we  
The woods are greener over yonder  
The path is new The world is free

There is a time for love and laughter  
When love is warm and so are we  
The woods are greener over yonder  
The path is new the world is free  
The path is new the world is free

When I had finished i had caught myself looking straight into the woods. The eating had silenced and as i turned around i saw both eyes staring at me. "Tom" the word came from my mouth like a whisper and at that moment i knew that the words in the song had a deeper meaning to him. As i look back I guess they had a new meaning for me too. Tom and I stood there talking for a while after that. Well, I really just talked to him. I told him about all the things that were important to me. My family, my friends, **(A/N** **MEGHAN!)**Where I lived and what I loved to do. I loved being out there with the flowing prairie grass, the towering forest trees, and ...with Tom. After a while I remembered that I was still hungry. I got up to go eat but before I left I remembered something. I don't know why but I had the feeling Tom needed to know what day it was.

"Tom today is Saturday. Tomorrow is Sunday so I can't come see you." He looked at me with a sad eye. I sighed, waved goodbye and headed for the house. Somehow I think it was significant for Tom to know what day it was. I had a feeling he wouldn't be around much longer. So, in honor of Tom, every time you see a horse, tell them what day it is. You never know if it might be there last.

By Julia Stith

For Tom  
7/15

**ok so i soooo forgot to add something to the story here is the I was running back up the hill towards the house only one thought came to mind. " I need to write this into a story and send it to Meghan." And that's how it all began.******

**i not even kidding. When i got back in the house after i visited Tom I grabbed my dinner and started writing my first response to you about this story. so yes it is true. There really is a horse named Tom and I'm the girl telling the story.****  
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**im not gonna be like other authors and just ask for responses. Only respond if you think my writing is good. Please take a look at my profile and IM me if you liked it!**


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